September 30th was the second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation observed in Canada. Across the country walks, speeches, music art installation, ceremonies and moments of silence were organized.
The national Day, which was created as a federal statutory holiday by Parliament in 2021, coincides with Orange Shirt Day, which was established in honour of Phyllis Webstad, a First Nations woman in British Columbia whose new orange shirt, given to her grandmother, was taken away on her first day of residential school when she was six years old. Many people across the country wore orange clothing printed with the words “Every Child Matters”. (The Global and Mail)
“Today is not a holiday. Today we recognize our strength, our perseverance and our voices. And our leadership in today’s society, and tomorrow”, said Ms. Peltier, who is the Anishinabek Nation’s chief and water commissioner. She previously addressed the United Nations on water supply issues. (The Global and Mail)
Over more than a century, at least 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children in Canada were removed from their families and sent to residential schools, where they were punished for speaking their languages and practising their cultures. Many children experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Thousands of them never came home. (The Global and Mail)
